College student and psychopath Chloe Sevre is one of seven students at her DC-based college who are part of a clinical study for psychopaths that tracks their moods and movements. When one of the students in the study is found dead in the psychology building, Chloe goes from hunter to prey.
Psychologists say that we all know psychopaths in our lives, but that we often have a difficult time identifying them due to their uncanny ability to manipulate and charm, giving back to us what we want to receive in a relationship. Vera Kurian’s debut novel is about those “plainclothes psychopaths,” the ones that you “never see coming.”
Kurian spins a murder mystery around the unique concept of seven psychopaths being invited to participate in a study at a D.C. college in exchange for a full ride at the university. They only have to agree to be evaluated and participate in a variety of “tests” designed to get into their unique minds. Things go astray, however, when someone begins murdering the psychopaths. Is it one of their own or has someone lifted their veil of anonymity, targeting them for what they are?
Never Saw Me Coming is told from multiple POVs, following three students from the study. The star of the novel is Chloe, who specifically chose to attend Adams University because it is where her nemesis Will goes to school. Chloe is clever and arrogant, and she WILL kill Will for what he did to her when they were kids … she only has to find him and manipulate him first. Then there’s Andre, whose parents wouldn’t be able to afford to send him to college if it weren’t for the study. The only problem is he hasn’t actually told him that he is IN the study … they think he won a scholarship to the university, which complicates things when he literally finds himself running for his life. Charles was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. A psychopath with unlimited means born into a toxic family could be dangerous in the wrong hands, but Charles tries to keep himself grounded through his long-term relationship with his girlfriend. When the murders get too close for comfort, Chloe, Andre, and Charles team up to uncover the culprit who is picking off the psychopaths one by one, but will they figure out whodunnit before their number comes up?
Vera Kurian has a Doctorate of Social Psychology, and she skillfully applies her knowledge to Never Saw Me Coming. Kurian has shared that psychopaths come in all shapes & sizes, and she demonstrates that through the vastly different Chloe, Andre, and Charles, who provide us with a broad scope of psychopathy in multiple forms. Her characters are vivid and intriguing, albeit a bit stereotypical when it comes to race and privilege.
Chloe, the standout psychopath from this novel, quickly steals the show and sucks you into her sinister, twisted world. Because Chloe puts on a charming, smiling face to the world, you “never see her coming,” but we as readers have the unique opportunity to go behind the scenes of a psychopath’s mind and delve into what’s really going on in there. Despite her nefarious intentions, Chloe is darkly humorous and razor sharp in wit. She makes for a highly entertaining protagonist, albeit one who is not quite right in the mind.
Never Saw Me Coming is pretty great up until the point where we start to figure out just who is killing psychopaths at Adams University. The pay off at the end of the novel wasn’t satisfying to me, and I found myself losing interest. I was hoping the ending was as clever as the rest of this book, but found myself disappointed. Nonetheless, the overall reading experience was enjoyable, and I recommend this book to those who love Caroline Kepnes’ You series, due to both works getting into the minds of the unhinged and deranged.
I was given the opportunity to listen to an audiobook of this novel narrated by Brittany Pressley. I will recommend anything narrated by Pressley! She gives a clear, modern voices to characters and brings them to life through her skillful narration.
Availability: Book; eBook & eAudiobook in cloudLibrary Rating: **** Stars (I really liked it) Reviewer: Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
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AWARDS: LibraryReads Favorites: 2021
GENRE: First Person Narratives; Psychological Suspense
TONE: Suspenseful
CHARACTER: Twisted
STORYLINE: Intricately Plotted
WRITING STYLE: Compelling
LOCATION: Washington, D.C.
SUBJECT: Campus Life; Clinical Trials; Murder Victims; Psychologists; Psychopaths; Universities & Colleges; Women College Students
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